Gower College Swansea A Level student heads to American University

Among the 1000-plus students about to progress to higher education from Gower College Swansea is Elli Rees, who has won a place at a prestigious American university.

Elli, who attended Ysgol Gyfun y Strade before studying A Levels in Maths, English Literature, Government and Politics, and Religious Studies at the Gorseinon Campus, will now read for a Liberal Arts degree at St John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland.

“We are all delighted for Elli that all her hard work has paid off,” says the College’s Oxbridge/HE+ Lead Tutor Felicity Padley. “Elli was in the rather fortunate position of holding offers from both St John’s College and Clare College, Cambridge, where she would have studied Anglo-Saxon, Norse and Celtic. She is a fantastic role model for any other students who might want to aim for American universities when applying for higher education courses.”

During her time at Gower College Swansea Elli was helped greatly by the Sutton Trust, an organisation that champions social mobility for young people. She won a scholarship to attend one of their US Summer Schools and received support in making her college application. She also attended a Seren Network US Summer School at Yale University.

Students at Gower College Swansea celebrated an overall A Level pass rate of 99% this year. Of these passes, 35% were at grades A*-A, 61% were at A*-B and 82% were at A*-C.

“We were really delighted with the A Level and vocational results again this year,” adds Principal Mark Jones. “At A Level, we were particularly pleased to see the higher A*- A grades increase on previous years. For example, 27 students achieved A* grades across the board and 121 achieved straight A* and A grades – which is a fantastic achievement.”